Insomnium / The Black Dahlia Murder / Stam1na @ Z7
19.11.2019 @ Z7 Konzertfabrik, Pratteln, Switzerland
When Amon Amarth and Hypocrisy are playing in Zurich on the same evening, you might wonder whether there will be an audience for the Finns Insomnium at Z7. It didn’t look good first, but more and more people stream into the hall for the first band, and to those who arrive later: you missed the best.
Stam1na are one of the bands I have seen most often at Finnish festivals over the years and they have never disappointed me. But I didn’t know whether their Finnish songs would reach European audiences too. They were at the Z7 in 2014, also with Insomnium, but at that time I was sick and couldn’t watch the concert. And I can say that their power on stage is no less than in Finland. Only the water spray of their soaked hair is much more pleasant in summer than in icy temperatures, and the camera doesn’t enjoy that either. But what’s amusing are the “Ihhh” shouts from the first rows behind you, as soon as the guys start headbanging and water is released from their hair at 100 km/h. (Great idea, save electricity by headbanging instead of blow-drying? the ed.)
Singer Antti Hyyrynen leads through the concert in a relaxed way and asks who has never heard of Stam1na before, and there are a few hands up. But for these people it was certainly not the first and the last time, because the Finnish guys fully convinced everyone with their great performance.
The Black Dahlia Murder, on the other hand, are a real test of patience and it takes a long time for a large part of the audience to warm up to those US dudes. I’m not the only one who thinks that it would have been better to leave Stam1na the longer slot. The performance of the Detroit guys was a bit monotonous despite a powerful delivery, but the repetition of movements, sequences and unfortunately wasn’t inspiring, and it’s the same with their music. I can’t say much about this band, except: it was difficult to listen to them for almost an hour.
Insomnium: These Finns are delivering one great album after the other, the most recent released on October 4th “Heart like a Grave”, and they are currently touring Europe to promote this album. Guitarist Ville Friman is replaced by Jani Liimatainen, who is probably more on tour this year than at home. Just recently he played at Z7 with Omnium Gatherum (REPORT HERE). Jani Liimatainen also takes over the clean vocals for some songs, which he masters nicely, although he is not a great singer. But it’s sufficient and he obviously has a lot of fun and that’s the main thing. Singer Niilo and guitarist Markus Vanhala are in top form and deliver an amazing show that captivates the audience. Besides the usual highlights from earlier albums, the setlist contains mostly new songs, so the last song is also a new one “Heart like a Grave”. An unusual choice, but a worthy conclusion for a very good concert. Before they gave a little cowboy interlude performed by Liimatainen and Vanhala, an acoustic version of “One for Sorrow” – see PHOTO GALLERY.
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